Rhinoceros horn cup with design of nine dragons

This libation cup with a tapered base is carved out of a large piece of rhinoceros horn in a rich honey-brown tone with dark brown areas at the base and extending to the inside. Finely carved in high relief and openwork, nine dragons chase flaming pearls amid clouds and rocky crags, clambering upwards and over the rim to form a cup handle and through the sides to the interior.

The use of mature scaly dragons on rhinoceros horn carvings as on this cup is very rare, the chi-dragon being the more commonly found species. An even more special feature is the total of nine dragons with four claws carved on the cup, strongly suggesting that it was made for imperial use.

Chinese medical lore credits rhinoceros horn with antipyretic, antidotal and aphrodisiac properties. It is, therefore, not surprising that most of the vessels made from rhinoceros horn that can be found today are libation cups.